April 10, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. Here We Go.

When Diane was here and Ken was obviously getting stronger by the day, she asked me if I was relieved and delighted with his progress. I said that I was pleased but not ecstatic. The last time he had the catheter removed and was doing well, on the forth day Ken stopped being able to urinate so the catheter had to once again be put in. Ever since Ken got sick in Mexico, Ken has a series of getting better, only to get another infection. So I was not optimistic. Sure enough, the catheter was removed on Friday and all was well. Ken was walking and eating and enjoying himself. But in the middle of the night, he felt pain in his testicle. He thought he had a hernia. Rather than going to the emergency room, we used cold and tylenol, and made an appointment with the Internist this afternoon. Dr. M. was substituting for Dr. Gregg, our real doctor. April drove us to the appointment at the Mississippi Hospital Center. Thank heavens for our helpers. After an examination, Dr. M. thinks Ken has an infection of his right testicle, so he prescribed an antibiotic specific for the testicles. Along with extra strength tylenol and cold packs, the good doctor thinks Ken will be better in a few days. Ken also has a high heart rate. Blood pressure is normal. He is not pleased. But he is happy not to have a hernia, which would have required surgery. And we did not force ourselves to spend hours in the ER so we made the right decision, we hope. Now once again, we hope the new antibiotic will turn the trick and return Ken on his path to some semblance of good health. So here we go.